'The city can't just give up': Vancouver councillor to table motion to support small business

Vancouver Councillor George Affleck will introduce a motion next week that asks for a review of the city's small business strategy.

The motion will seek a review of current policies and programs and will look to create a small business policy council to advocate on behalf of independent and small firms.

"Our engine is driven by small business," said Affleck. "To not have a small business [council] seems to be an omission on the part of the city."

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Lower tax ratio

The Non-Partisan Association councillor said the review would look at a number of issues, from taxation to establishing a mandate for the city to advocate for provincial policy changes.

Affleck was short on specifics, saying the motion was not meant to be prescriptive, rather to get the ball rolling on issues within the city's control.

"The one program that we can do is reduce the tax ratio. Currently the tax ratio for a business in this city is four-and-a-half times higher than a resident," he said.

Citing affordability issues driven by increasing property values and taxes, Affleck said taxation reform should be driven by the city but there is a need for the province to step in and adjust its tax policy as well.

Empty store tax

After seeing an 80 per cent increase in her rent, one Mount Pleasant business owner recently called for an empty storefront tax to prevent developers from sitting on commercial space.

"Empty storefronts do nothing for a neighbourhood," said Sarah Savoy, owner of Much and Little on Main Street. "Why not tax the property owner, create the incentive for them to set the price for something fair yet competitive."

Affleck's motion doesn't propose any such tax, but he said he was open to neighbourhood-specific strategies.

"In Mount Pleasant, when we changed the policies for height and the kinds of businesses that could be in that neighbourhood, suddenly the value of property went up so the taxation went up. Now we're seeing that problem in the West End," he said.

One option could be to encourage businesses to move away from high-density arterial zones and onto side streets where appropriate, suggested Affleck.

While he is a believer in the free market, Affleck said the city needs to step in to help businesses now. 

"The city can't just give up," he said. "If you want to live in a city where you can walk to work or you can get to your dentist office or groceries or dinner in your neighbourhood, without getting in your car, then we have to encourage a city that allows and makes that possible."

With files from CBC Radio One's The Early Edition.